Tight election raises doubts about actual voter number

Nov. 9, 2013
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Michael Rolands/Record-Herald file photo

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Last week’s election brought the end to a particularly contentious mayoral race in the city of Okoboji in far northwest Iowa, where incumbent Mary VanderWoude defeated businessman Leo “Butch” Parks for a second time.

But it did not bring an end to allegations of voter fraud.

Two people filed formal protests over six votes cast, a first for Dickinson County Auditor Nancy Reiman.

Reader Tim Frank also wrote in to The Des Moines Register before the election, questioning why there were 828 registered voters in the lake town, but the community’s official population was listed at 819.

It was a provocative question, one that Frank suggested was due to some voters playing fast and loose with their residency.

But because the election was so close — and Frank had campaigned for the mayor — it seemed only fair to wait until all returns were in to explore.

Frank’s questions proved frustrating to Reiman, who said the second showdown between VanderWoude and Parks, the owner of a marina and bar who had tangled with the city, had proved as ugly as the first.

In 2011, Vander Woude beat Parks by less than 20 votes.

This time, she garnered 282 votes to his 213, according to still-unofficial results.

“There’s just history to this race,” Reiman said. “And neither side believes anything I tell them. But I don’t really give a rip who the mayor is. I don’t live in Okoboji. I don’t even wanna go near it.”

The last time Vander Woude and Parks went up against each other, Iowa’s Division of Criminal Investigation began an investigation into voter fraud, Reiman said.

But the probe yielded nothing. And in this year’s race, all the votes challenged were upheld as legitimate, she said.

Reiman said there’s a fairly logical explanation for why Okoboji would appear to have more voters than men, women and children: It’s hard to get inactive voters off the books.

According to 2010 census numbers, Okoboji actually had 807 residents. According to Iowa’s secretary of state, it currently has 808 registered voters.

Reiman ran some numbers this week and found proof of what she already knew: Many other lake communities in the region also have a high number of registered voters compared to actual residents.

Wahpeton on the west side of Okoboji, for example, has a population of 341 and 316 registered voters.

Reiman said people come and go frequently from the lakes region. Some residents live in house boats, but only from April until October.

“We also have a lot of inactive voters still in our files,” she said. “But until we get a cancellation or two cycles of sending them mail after they haven’t voted, there may be nothing we can do.”

Chance McElhaney, spokesman for Secretary of State Matt Schultz, explained that the federal “motor voter” law requires that auditors wait two general elections before inactive voters can be cleared from the books.

But he said his office has tried to help by comparing voter names with the Social Security Administration’s death index and keeping in contact with other states when Iowa voters have moved.

“Due to federal and state law, county auditors are limited in how often records can be canceled when people move and do not notify their previous county,” he said. “The cancellation process can sometimes take up to eight years.”

Hopefully, the tension over this year’s race for mayor in Okoboji will blow over much sooner.

Lee Rood’s Reader’s Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Contact her at lrood@dmreg.com or 515-284-8549. Read past reports at DesMoinesRegister.com/ReadersWatchdog.